Florida ER Doctor Keeps Staff in Stitches

Dr. Roger Pacholka is a silly song, a joke or an encouraging word just when it's needed most.

Pacholka is an attending physician in the emergency department at Dayton's Miami Valley Hospital and it's what he says and does on the job that endears the disk-jockey-turned-doctor-and-missionary to nurses, paramedics and EMTs.

Everyone, it seems, has a favorite Pacholka story...

"We're coming back from an emergency run, see, and we hear Doc on the radio talking to another medic crew that's bringing in a man who was injured in a motorcycle-pickup-truck accident," said Al Dennis, a part-time firefighter/EMT-I with the Jefferson Twp., New Lebanon and Brookville Fire Departments.

"After giving his report, the crew chief noted the patient wasn't wearing a protective helmet at the time of the crash. Pacholka replied with 'Uh-oh,' then said, 'You will be bringing him into MVH - the region's leader - where we will: A. fix him up and, B. chip in to buy him a helmet.' "

Pacholka developed his skills as an emergency department raconteur while using the alias "Bill Lyons" and hosting the after- noon rock music show on Dayton's WTUE-FM in the 1970s.

But life at that time also had a dark side for the doctor.

"Like many young people, I went straight from high school to college," he said. "Unfortunately, my life was really messed up with drugs and alcohol. In 1972, I flunked out of Wright State University with a 1.6 GPA. I became increasingly depressed. I actually considered suicide as a way out. "

Then the 1970 Northridge High School graduate did a sudden about-face.

"On the worst day of my life, I accepted Jesus as my savior and that same day everything changed," he said.

Pacholka returned to college in 1977, graduated with a 3.95 GPA and completed WSU's Emergency Medicine Residency in 1985.

He has worked at Miami Valley Hospital for 10 years. He's also a $1-a-year member of the Xenia Fire Department and the department's medical director.

In 1999, Pacholka and his wife, Katy, a registered nurse, founded In His Name Ministries, a notfor-profit Christian mission organization that provides medical treatment and pastoral support to AIDS victims and others in Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa and Angola.

Over the years, the physician has done some pretty off-the-wall things, like wing-walk at the 1974 Dayton Air Show, play basketball against the Harlem Globetrotters and wrestle a 600-pound bear during an Indiana Pacers halftime show.

He also has a knack for turning in some memorable performances in the emergency room, especially when he serenades an incoming ambulance crews with the The Brady Bunch theme song or delivers his radio messages in a Count Dracula voice.

Paholka stories abound ...

"I remember the night a Care-Flight crew member was talking to Dr. Pacholka on the radio," said Rachel Trump, a Miami Valley Hospital emergency department technician and a paramedic with the Washington Twp. Fire Department.

After informing him of the patient's condition, she requested orders. He told her, 'Well, if you're planning on stopping at Taco Bell on the way in, please bring me something.' "

There's a method to his zaniness.

"Paramedics, firefighters and nurses are my heroes," he said. "When I do my doctor stuff I'm in a nice safe place, with great lighting and the best equipment, but they are more likely to be working in a stranger's living room, a crowded mall or an overturned car. I really don't think I could do what they do. I try to keep it light because humor is a great way to deal with stress. Nothing helps a person like a good laugh. It's medicine for the soul."

Now, as his 53rd birthday approaches, Pacholka is preparing to make another major life change: He and his wife will move to South Africa, where they are building a home. Their daughter, Lori, a freshman at Miami University, will remain here, but will spend some time each year with her parents in Africa.